2018 IndyCar Series (Dubsy's World) (Outdated)
The 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series is the 23rd season of the Verizon IndyCar Series and the 97th official championship season of American open wheel racing. Josef Newgarden entered the season as the defending IndyCar champion, while Takuma Sato entered the season as the defending Indianapolis 500 winner. Drivers and Teams Team Changes * Carlin announced that they would move up from Indy Lights with ex-Chip Ganassi drivers Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball. * Chip Ganassi Racing downsized from four cars to two with Scott Dixon remaining in the #9 and 2017 Rookie of the Year Ed Jones joining the team in the #10 car. * Dale Coyne Racing and former team owners Jimmy Vasser and James Sullivan teamed up to field Sebastien Bourdais' 18 car. * Harding Racing confirmed it would become a full time organization in 2018 with Gabby Chaves at the wheel and James Davison driving and Indy only entry in conjunction with Jonathan Byrd. * Juncos Racing confirmed that they would run a limited schedule with Indy Lights champion Kyle Kaiser and Austrian driver Rene Binder. * Michael Shank Racing announced that they would field a part time entry for Jack Harvey with support from Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. * Scuderia Corsa joined the series as a co owner of the RLLR 64 car driven by Oriol Servia in the Indianapolis 500. Driver Changes * AJ Foyt Enterprises announced that veteran Tony Kanaan and Indy Lights race winner Matheus Leist would be joining the team. Leist became the youngest IndyCar rookie since Marco Andretti in 2006. * After being bumped out of an Indy 500 ride in 2017 by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, Stefan Wilson drove an Andretti Autosport car for the 500 mile race. * Zach Veach would make his full season debut with Andretti Autosport, replacing Takuma Sato in the #26 car. * Alexander Rossi and Marco Andretti swapped rides for the 2018 season, with Rossi moving to the #27 and Andretti moving to the Bryan Herta allied #98 car. * Carlos Munoz announced a return to Andretti Autosport for the Indy 500 after a one year stint with AJ Foyt's team. * Zachary Claman DeMelo and Pietro Fittipaldi, two rookies, were signed on to split the schedule in Dale Coyne's #19 car with Fittipaldi driving the Indianapolis 500. Conor Daly would also join the team for the 500 with an alliance with former Lazier partner Thom Burns. * JR Hildebrand joined Sage Karam at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for the Indianapolis 500, marking the first time the team ran two cars in a race since 2011. * After announcing that her final professional race would be at the Brickyard, Danica Patrick announced that she would make her Indianapolis 500 attempt with Ed Carpenter Racing. * Spencer Pigot moved into a full time role with Ed Carpenter Racing, replacing JR Hildebrand in the #21. British ex- Formula 2 driver Jordan King would be brought in as the road course driver in the #20 car. * Buddy Lazier would bring his small team back for his final Indy 500 bow, his car number representing his age at 50. * After one year with Andretti Autosport, reigning Indy 500 champ Takuma Sato moved to the new second full time car for RLLR. * Long time DTM driver Robert Wickens was confirmed as the driver of the second Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car. Jay Howard would join the team for the Indianapolis 500 in a third car. * Helio Castroneves drove at both Indy races for Roger Penske after moving to his newly opened sportscar team. Season Summary Season highlights * In the first race of the new 2018 car, Scott Dixon held off Simon Pagenaud in a thrilling battle seeing Pagenaud getting around Dixon with eight to go only for Dixon to get back around him with five to go. * Ryan Hunter-Reay avoided early race chaos to break a winless streak dating back to 2015 in the oval debut of the new Indycar. * Scott Dixon held off Ed Carpenter to win his second Indianapolis 500 in an outstanding race. * James Hinchcliffe got around Josef Newgarden with three laps to go to win his hometown race in a thrilling finish. * Marco Andretti broke a 122 race winless streak at Pocono passing Alexander Rossi with two laps to go to win. * Ed Jones became IndyCar's first first time winner since Alexander Rossi in 2016 in dominating fashion at Sonoma while his teammate Scott Dixon finished third to clinch the championship over Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud. Race results Driver Standings Manufacturer Standings Category:Sports Category:Racing Category:Dubsy's World